UCLA’s Kyle Anderson, right, blocks a shot by Arizona State’s Jahii Carson during Sunday’s game. Carson was held to only nine points as the Bruins won, 87-72.
Chris Carlson — The Associated Press

Welcome back, Zach.

After a mini-slump doused the fiery start to his UCLA career, freshman guard Zach LaVine shot back with a vengeance on Sunday night and keyed the Bruins to a 87-72 win over Arizona State.

There were the customary dunks, including a vicious windmill that had all of Pauley Pavilion holding its breath as he hung in the air. There was the rediscovered 3-point range as he sank his first three attempts.

In his last six games, LaVine had averaged 9.2 points on 42.3 percent shooting — down markedly from the respective averages of 14.2 and 60.5 he carried through his first nine games.

When most of the 8,003 at Pauley Pavilion filed out toward the restrooms, the Seattle-area native already had a game-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including 10 in a row for the Bruins.

“Today, I was a little more aggressive,” he said. “I took about 500 shots a day this week. I knew my jumper was on.”

Added head coach Steve Alford: “He probably only had one bad shot. I told him, ‘When I tell you to be more patient, that doesn’t mean we don’t want you shooting the ball.’ ”

After holding a 17-point halftime advantage, UCLA led by as many as 23 and never by less than nine. LaVine finished with 19 points, two shy of tying his career high.

Fittingly, he delivered while sharing the court with the Sun Devils’ Jahii Carson.

Last season, it was the ASU standout who played the role of the conference’s most thrilling youngster. He was Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year along with the Bruins’ Shabazz Muhammad, an NBA lottery pick recently demoted to the D-League’s Iowa Energy.

Leading up to tipoff, Carson’s own star had hardly dulled.

Former UCLA coach Ben Howland once compared the 5-foot-10 guard to former Washington star Isaiah Thomas, a two-time Pac-10 Tournament MVP who now averages 19.1 points and 6.3 rebounds with the Sacramento Kings.

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A year ago, Carson was the first freshman in conference history to average at least 18.5 points and 5.1 assists. Earlier this season, he became the fourth Sun Devil to score 40 points in a game. His overall numbers are nearly identical to those of 2012-13, except for 51.1 percent from long distance, up from 31.

But with Arizona State (13-4, 2-2) vying for its first Los Angeles road sweep since 1987, Carson turned in one of the worst games of his career. He didn’t make a field goal until nearly 14 minutes into the game. By halftime, he had mustered just five points on 2-of-10 shooting.

Less than five minutes into the second half, he picked up his fourth foul and headed to the bench. At the final buzzer, he had just nine points, went 4 of 17 from the field and missed all five of his 3-point attempts.

He never fouled out, but couldn’t do anything to pull ASU back into a close game. Senior transfer Shaq McKissic closed the gap to nine points with fast-break layup at 6:25, but UCLA kept the cushion from shrinking any further.

The Bruins (13-3, 2-1), still without a victory over a ranked opponent, needed a bounce-back effort following their four-point loss to No. 1 Arizona on Thursday.

“I definitely felt like we had to go out there and play with our backs against the wall,” said point guard Kyle Anderson, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. “We lost the first one ... so we needed to get this one.”